The invention refers to a novel method for cloning DNA molecules using a homologous recombination mechanism between at least two DNA molecules. Further, novel reagent kits suitable for DNA cloning are provided.
Current methods for cloning foreign DNA in bacterial cells usually comprise the steps of providing a suitable bacterial vector, cleaving said vector with a restriction enzyme and in vitro-inserting a foreign DNA fragment in said vector. The resulting recombinant vectors are then used to transform bacteria. Although such cloning methods have been used successfully for about 20 years they suffer from several drawbacks. These drawbacks are, in particular, that the in vitro steps required for inserting foreign DNA in a vector are often very complicated and time-consuming, if no suitable restriction sites are available on the foreign DNA or the vector.
Furthermore, current methods usually rely on the presence of suitable restriction enzyme cleavage sites in the vector into which the foreign DNA fragment is placed. This imposes two limitations on the final cloning product. First, the foreign DNA fragment can usually only be inserted into the vector at the position of such a restriction site or sites. Thus, the cloning product is limited by the disposition of suitable restriction sites and cloning into regions of the vector where there is no suitable restriction site, is difficult and often imprecise. Second, since restriction sites are typically 4 to 8 base pairs in length, they occur a multiple number of times as the size of the DNA molecules being used increases. This represents a practical limitation to the size of the DNA molecules that can be manipulated by most current cloning techniques. In particular, the larger sizes of DNA cloned into vectors such as cosmids, BACs, PACs and P1s are such that it is usually impractical to manipulate them directly by restriction enzyme based techniques. Therefore, there is a need for providing a new cloning method, from which the drawbacks of the prior art have at least partly been eliminated.
According to the present invention it was found that an efficient homologous recombination mechanism between two DNA molecules occurs at usable frequencies in a bacterial host cell which is capable of expressing the products of the recE and recT genes or functionally related genes such as the redxcex1 and redxcex2 genes, or the phage P22 recombination system (Kolodner et al., Mol. Microbiol. 11 (1994) 23-30; Fenton, A. C. and Poteete, A. R., Virology 134 (1984) 148-160; Poteete, A. R. and Fenton, A. C., Virology 134 (1984) 161-167). This novel method of cloning DNA fragments is termed xe2x80x9cET cloningxe2x80x9d.
The identification and characterization of the E. coli RecE and RecT proteins is described Gillen et al. (J. Bacteriol. 145 (1981), 521-532) and Hall et al. (J. Bacteriol. 175 (1993), 277-287). Hall and Kolodner (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91 (1994), 3205-3209) disclose in vitro homologous pairing and strand exchange of linear double-stranded DNA and homologous circular single-stranded DNA promoted by the RecT protein. Any references to the use of this method for the cloning of DNA molecules in cells cannot be found therein.
The recET pathway of genetic recombination in E. coli is known (Hall and Kolodner (1994), supra; Gillen et al. (1981), supra). This pathway requires the expression of two genes, recE and recT. The DNA sequence of these genes has been published (Hall et al., supra). The RecE protein is similar to bacteriophage proteins, such as xcex exo or xcex Redxcex1 (Gillen et al., J. Mol. Biol. 113 (1977), 27-41; Little, J. Biol. Chem. 242 (1967), 679-686; Radding and Carter, J. Biol. Chem. 246 (1971), 2513-2518; Joseph and Kolodner, J. Biol. Chem. 258 (1983), 10418-10424). The RecT protein is similar to bacteriophage proteins, such as xcex xcex2-protein or xcex Redxcex2 (Hall et al. (1993), supra; Muniyappa and Radding, J. Biol. Chem. 261 (1986), 7472-7478; Kmiec and Hollomon, J. Biol. Chem. 256 (1981), 12636-12639). The content of the above-cited documents is incorporated herein by reference.
Oliner et al. (Nucl. Acids Res. 21 (1993), 5192-5197) describe in vivo cloning of PCR products in E. coli by intermolecular homologous recombination between a linear PCR product and a linearized plasmid vector. Other previous attempts to develop new cloning methods based on homologous recombination in prokaryotes, too, relied on the use of restriction enzymes to linearise the vector (Bubeck et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 21 (1993), 3601-3602; Oliner et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 21 (1993), 5192-5197; Degryse, Gene 170 (1996), 45-50) or on the host-specific recA-dependent recombination system (Hamilton et al., J. Bacteriol. 171 (1989), 4617-4622; Yang et al., Nature Biotech. 15 (1997), 859-865; Dabert and Smith, Genetics 145 (1997), 877-889). These methods are of very limited applicability and are hardly used in practice.
The novel method of cloning DNA according to the present invention does not require in vitro treatments with restriction enzymes or DNA ligases and is therefore fundamentally distinct from the standard methodologies of DNA cloning. The method relies on a pathway of homologous recombination in E. coli involving the recE and recT gene products, or the redxcex1 and redxcex2 gene products, or functionally equivalent gene products. The method covalently combines one preferably linear and preferably extrachromosomal DNA fragment, the DNA fragment to be cloned, with one second preferably circular DNA vector molecule, either an episome or the endogenous host chromosome or chromosomes. It is therefore distinct from previous descriptions of cloning in E. coli by homologous recombination which either rely on the use of two linear DNA fragments or different recombination pathways.
The present invention provides a flexible way to use homologous recombination to engineer large DNA molecules including an intact greater than 76 kb plasmid and the E. coli chromosome. Thus, there is practically no limitation of target choice either according to size or site. Therefore, any recipient DNA in a host cell, from high copy plasmid to the genome, is amenable to precise alteration. In addition to engineering large DNA molecules, the invention outlines new, restriction enzyme-independent approaches to DNA design. For example, deletions between any two chosen base pairs in a target episome can be made by choice of oligonucleotide homology arms. Similarly, chosen DNA sequences can be inserted at a chosen base pair to create, for example, altered protein reading frames. Concerted combinations of insertions and deletions, as well as point mutations, are also possible. The application of these strategies is particularly relevant to complex or difficult DNA constructions, for example, those intended for homologous recombinations in eukaryotic cells, e.g. mouse embryonic stem cells. Further, the present invention provides a simple way to position site specific recombination target sites exactly where desired. This will simplify applications of site specific recombination in other living systems, such as plants and mice.
A subject matter of the present invention is a method for cloning DNA molecules in cells comprising the steps:
a) providing a host cell capable of performing homologous recombination,
b) contacting in said host cell a first DNA molecule which is capable of being replicated in said host cell with a second DNA molecule comprising at least two regions of sequence homology to regions on the first DNA molecule, under conditions which favour homologous recombination between said first and second DNA molecules and
c) selecting a host cell in which homologous recombination between said first and second DNA molecules has occurred.
In the method of the present invention the homologous recombination preferably occurs via the recET mechanism, i.e. the homologous recombination is mediated by the gene products of the recE and the recT genes which are preferably selected from the E. coli genes recE and recT or functionally related genes such as the phage xcex redxcex1 and redxcex2 genes.
The host cell suitable for the method of the present invention preferably is a bacterial cell, e.g. a gram-negative bacterial cell. More preferably, the host cell is an enterobacterial cell, such as Salmonella, Klebsiella or Escherichia. Most preferably the host cell is an Escherichia coli cell. It should be noted, however, that the cloning method of the present invention is also suitable for eukaryotic cells, such as fungi, plant or animal cells.
Preferably, the host cell used for homologous recombination and propagation of the cloned DNA can be any cell, e.g. a bacterial strain in which the products of the recE and recT, or redxcex1 and redxcex2, genes are expressed. The host cell may comprise the recE and recT genes located on the host cell chromosome or on non-chromosomal DNA, preferably on a vector, e.g. a plasmid. In a preferred case, the RecE and RecT, or Redxcex1 and Redxcex2, gene products are expressed from two different regulatable promoters, such as the arabinose-inducible BAD promoter or the lac promoter or from non-regulatable promoters. Alternatively, the recE and recT, or redxcex1 and redxcex2, genes are expressed on a polycistronic mRNA from a single regulatable or non-regulatable promoter. Preferably the expression is controlled by regulatable promoters.
Especially preferred is also an embodiment, wherein the recE or redxcex1 gene is expressed by a regulatable promoter. Thus, the recombinogenic potential of the system is only elicited when required and, at other times, possible undesired recombination reactions are limited. The recT or redxcex2 gene, on the other hand, is preferably overexpressed with respect to recE or redo. This may be accomplished by using a strong constitutive promoter, e.g. the EM7 promoter and/or by using a higher copy number of recT, or redxcex2, versus recE, or redxcex1, genes.
For the purpose of the present invention any recE and recT genes are suitable insofar as they allow a homologous recombination of first and second DNA molecules with sufficient efficiency to give rise to recombination products in more than 1 in 109 cells transfected with DNA. The recE and recT genes may be derived from any bacterial strain or from bacteriophages or may be mutants and variants thereof. Preferred are recE and recT genes which are derived from E. coli or from E. coli bacteriophages, such as the redxcex1 and redxcex2 genes from lambdoid phages, e.g. bacteriophage xcex.
More preferably, the recE or redxcex1 gene is selected from a nucleic acid molecule comprising
(a) the nucleic acid sequence from position 1320 (ATG) to 2159 (GAC) as depicted in FIG. 7B or SEQ ID No. 2,
(b) the nucleic acid sequence from position 1320 (ATG) to 1998 (CGA) as depicted in FIG. 14B or SEQ ID No. 11,
(c) a nucleic acid encoding the same polypeptide within the degeneracy of the genetic code and/or
(d) a nucleic acid sequence which hybridizes under stringent conditions with the nucleic acid sequence from (a), (b) and/or (c).
More preferably, the recT or redxcex2 gene is selected from a nucleic acid molecule comprising
(a) the nucleic acid sequence from position 2155 (ATG) to 2961 (GAA) as depicted in FIG. 7B or SEQ ID No. 4,
(b) the nucleic acid sequence from position 2086 (ATG) to 2868 (GCA) as depicted in FIG. 14B or SEQ ID No. 11,
(c) a nucleic acid encoding the same polypeptide within the degeneracy of the genetic code and/or
(d) a nucleic acid sequence which hybridizes under stringent conditions with the nucleic acid sequences from (a), (b) and/or (c).
It should be noted that the present invention also encompasses mutants and variants of the given sequences, e.g. naturally occurring mutants and variants or mutants and variants obtained by genetic engineering. Further it should be noted that the recE gene depicted in FIG. 7B is an already truncated gene encoding amino acids 588-866 of the native protein. Mutants and variants preferably have a nucleotide sequence identity of at least 60%, preferably of at least 70% and more preferably of at least 80% of the recE and recT sequences depicted in FIGS. 7B and 13B, and of the redxcex1 and redxcex2 sequences depicted in FIG. 14B.
According to the present invention hybridization under stringent conditions preferably is defined according to Sambrook et al. (1989), infra, and comprises a detectable hybridization signal after washing for 30 min in 0.1xc3x97SSC, 0.5% SDS at 55xc2x0 C., preferably at 62xc2x0 C. and more preferably at 68xc2x0 C.
In a preferred case the recE and recT genes are derived from the corresponding endogenous genes present in the E. coli K12 strain and its derivatives or from bacteriophages. In particular, strains that carry the sbcA mutation are suitable. Examples of such strains are JC8679 and JC 9604 (Gillen et al. (1981), supra). Alternatively, the corresponding genes may also be obtained from other coliphages such as lambdoid phages or phage P22.
The genotype of JC 8679 and JC 9604 is Sex (Hfr, F+, Fxe2x88x92, or Fxe2x80x2): Fxe2x88x92.JC 8679 comprises the mutations: recBC 21, recC 22, sbcA 23, thr-1, ara-14, leu B 6, DE (gpt-proA) 62, lacY1, tsx-33, gluV44 (AS), galK2 (Oc), LAM-, his-60, relA 1, rps L31 (strR), xyl A5, mtl-1, argE3 (Oc) and thi-1. JC 9604 comprises the same mutations and further the mutation recA 56.
Further, it should be noted that the recE and recT, or redxcex1 and redxcex2, genes can be isolated from a first donor source, e.g. a donor bacterial cell and transformed into a second receptor source, e.g. a receptor bacterial or eukaryotic cell in which they are expressed by recombinant DNA means.
In one embodiment of the invention, the host cell used is a bacterial strain having an sbcA mutation, e.g. one of E. coli strains JC 8679 and JC 9604 mentioned above. However, the method of the invention is not limited to host cells having an sbcA mutation or analogous cells. Surprisingly, it has been found that the cloning method of the invention also works in cells without sbcA mutation, whether recBC+ or recBCxe2x88x92, e.g. also in prokaryotic recBC+ host cells, e.g. in E. coli recBC+ cells. In that case preferably those host cells are used in which the product of a recBC type exonuclease inhibitor gene is expressed. Preferably, the exonuclease inhibitor is capable of inhibiting the host recBC system or an equivalent thereof. A suitable example of such exonuclease inhibitor gene is the xcex redxcex3 gene (Murphy, J. Bacteriol. 173 (1991), 5808-5821) and functional equivalents thereof, respectively, which, for example, can be obtained from other coliphages such as from phage P22 (Murphy, J. Biol. Chem. 269 (1994), 22507-22516).
More preferably, the exonuclease inhibitor gene is selected from a nucleic acid molecule comprising
(a) the nucleic acid sequence from position 3588 (ATG) to 4002 (GTA) as depicted in FIG. 13B or SEQ ID No. 10 or 11,
(b) a nucleic acid encoding the same polypeptide within the degeneracy of the genetic code and/or
(c) a nucleic acid sequence which hybridizes under stringent conditions as defined above with the nucleic acid sequence from (a) and/or (b).
Surprisingly, it has been found that the expression of an exonuclease inhibitor gene in both recBC+ and recBCxe2x88x92 strains leads to significant improvement of cloning efficiency.
The cloning method according to the present invention employs a homologous recombination between a first DNA molecule and a second DNA molecule. The first DNA molecule can be any DNA molecule that carries an origin of replication which is operative in the host cell, e.g. an E. coli replication origin. Further, the first DNA molecule is present in a form which is capable of being replicated in the host cell. The first DNA molecule, i.e. the vector, can be any extrachromosomal DNA molecule containing an origin of replication which is operative in said host cell, e.g. a plasmid including single, low, medium or high copy plasmids or other extrachromosomal circular DNA molecules based on cosmid, P1, BAC or PAC vector technology. Examples of such vectors are described, for example, by Sambrook et al. (Molecular Cloning, Laboratory Manual, 2nd Edition (1989), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press) and Ioannou et al. (Nature Genet. 6 (1994), 84-89) or references cited therein. The first DNA molecule can also be a host cell chromosome, particularly the E. coli chromosome. Preferably, the first DNA molecule is a double-stranded DNA molecule.
The second DNA molecule is preferably a linear DNA molecule and comprises at least two regions of sequence homology, preferably of sequence identity to regions on the first DNA molecule. These homology or identity regions are preferably at least 15 nucleotides each, more preferably at least 20 nucleotides and, most preferably, at least 30 nucleotides each.
Especially good results were obtained when using sequence homology regions having a length of about 40 or more nucleotides, e.g. 60 or more nucleotides. The two sequence homology regions can be located on the linear DNA fragment so that one is at one end and the other is at the other end, however they may also be located internally. Preferably, also the second DNA molecule is a double-stranded DNA molecule.
The two sequence homology regions are chosen according to the experimental design. There are no limitations on which regions of the first DNA molecule can be chosen for the two sequence homology regions located on the second DNA molecule, except that the homologous recombination event cannot delete the origin of replication of the first DNA molecule. The sequence homology regions can be interrupted by non-identical sequence regions as long as sufficient sequence homology is retained for the homologous recombination reaction. By using sequence homology arms having non-identical sequence regions compared to the target site mutations such as substitutions, e.g. point mutations, insertions and/or deletions may be introduced into the target site by ET cloning.
The second foreign DNA molecule which is to be cloned in the bacterial cell may be derived from any source. For example, the second DNA molecule may be synthesized by a nucleic acid amplification reaction such as a PCR where both of the DNA oligonucleotides used to prime the amplification contain in addition to sequences at the 3xe2x80x2-ends that serve as a primer for the amplification, one or the other of the two homology regions. Using oligonucleotides of this design, the DNA product of the amplification can be any DNA sequence suitable for amplification and will additionally have a sequence homology region at each end.
A specific example of the generation of the second DNA molecule is the amplification of a gene that serves to convey a phenotypic difference to the bacterial host cells, in particular, antibiotic resistance. A simple variation of this procedure involves the use of oligonucleotides that include other sequences in addition to the PCR primer sequence and the sequence homology region. A further simple variation is the use of more than two amplification primers to generate the amplification product. A further simple variation is the use of more than one amplification reaction to generate the amplification product. A further variation is the use of DNA fragments obtained by methods other than PCR, for example, by endonuclease or restriction enzyme cleavage to linearize fragments from any source of DNA.
It should be noted that the second DNA molecule is not necessarily a single species of DNA molecule. It is of course possible to use a heterogenous population of second DNA molecules, e.g. to generate a DNA library, such as a genomic or cDNA library.
The method of the present invention may comprise the contacting of the first and second DNA molecules in vivo. In one embodiment of the present invention the second DNA fragment is transformed into a bacterial strain that already harbors the first vector DNA molecule. In a different embodiment, the second DNA molecule and the first DNA molecule are mixed together in vitro before co-transformation in the bacterial host cell. These two embodiments of the present invention are schematically depicted in FIG. 1. The method of transformation can be any method known in the art (e.g. Sambrook et al. supra). The preferred method of transformation or co-transformation, however, is electroporation.
After contacting the first and second DNA molecules under conditions which favour homologous recombination between first and second DNA molecules via the ET cloning mechanism a host cell is selected, in which homologous recombination between said first and second DNA molecules has occurred. This selection procedure can be carried out by several different methods. In the following three preferred selection methods are depicted in FIG. 2 and described in detail below.
In a first selection method a second DNA fragment is employed which carries a gene for a marker placed between the two regions of sequence homology wherein homologous recombination is detectable by expression of the marker gene. The marker gene may be a gene for a phenotypic marker which is not expressed in the host or from the first DNA molecule. Upon recombination by ET cloning, the change in phenotype of the host strain conveyed by the stable acquisition of the second DNA fragment identifies the ET cloning product.
In a preferred case, the phenotypic marker is a gene that conveys resistance to an antibiotic, in particular, genes that convey resistance to kanamycin, ampillicin, chloramphenicol, tetracyclin or any other substance that shows bacteriocidal or bacteriostatic effects on the bacterial strain employed.
A simple variation is the use of a gene that complements a deficiency present within the bacterial host strain employed. For example, the host strain may be mutated so that it is incapable of growth without a metabolic supplement. In the absence of this supplement, a gene on the second DNA fragment can complement the mutational defect thus permitting growth. Only those cells which contain the episome carrying the intended DNA rearrangement caused by the ET cloning step will grow.
In another example, the host strain carries a phenotypic marker gene which is mutated so that one of its codons is a stop codon that truncates the open reading frame. Expression of the full length protein from this phenotypic marker gene requires the introduction of a suppressor tRNA gene which, once expressed, recognizes the stop codon and permits translation of the full open reading frame. The suppressor tRNA gene is introduced by the ET cloning step and successful recombinants identified by selection for, or identification of, the expression of the phenotypic marker gene. In these cases, only those cells which contain the intended DNA rearrangement caused by the ET cloning step will grow.
A further simple variation is the use of a reporter gene that conveys a readily detectable change in colony colour or morphology. In a preferred case, the green fluorescence protein (GFP) can be used and colonies carrying the ET cloning product identified by the fluorescence emissions of GFP. In another preferred case, the lacZ gene can be used and colonies carrying the ET cloning product identified by a blue colony colour when X-gal is added to the culture medium.
In a second selection method the insertion of the second DNA fragment into the first DNA molecule by ET cloning alters the expression of a marker present on the first DNA molecule. In this embodiment the first DNA molecule contains at least one marker gene between the two regions of sequence homology and homologous recombination may be detected by an altered expression, e.g. lack of expression of the marker gene.
In a preferred application, the marker present on the first DNA molecule is a counter-selectable gene product, such as the sacB, ccdB or tetracycline-resistance genes. In these cases, bacterial cells that carry the first DNA molecule unmodified by the ET cloning step after transformation with the second DNA fragment, or co-transformation with the second DNA fragment and the first DNA molecule, are plated onto a medium so the expression of the counter-selectable marker conveys a toxic or bacteriostatic effect on the host. Only those bacterial cells which contain the first DNA molecule carrying the intended DNA rearrangement caused by the ET cloning step will grow.
In another preferred application, the first DNA molecule carries a reporter gene that conveys a readily detectable change in colony colour or morphology. In a preferred case, the green fluorescence protein (GFP) can be present on the first DNA molecule and colonies carrying the first DNA molecule with or without the ET cloning product can be distinguished by differences in the fluorescence emissions of GFP. In another preferred case, the lacZ gene can be present on the first DNA molecule and colonies carrying the first DNA molecule with or without the ET cloning product identified by a blue or white colony colour when X-gal is added to the culture medium.
In a third selection method the integration of the second DNA fragment into the first DNA molecule by ET cloning removes a target site for a site specific recombinase, termed here an RT (for recombinase target) present on the first DNA molecule between the two regions of sequence homology. A homologous recombination event may be detected by removal of the target site.
In the absence of the ET cloning product, the RT is available for use by the corresponding site specific recombinase. The difference between the presence or not of this RT is the basis for selection of the ET cloning product. In the presence of this RT and the corresponding site specific recombinase, the site specific recombinase mediates recombination at this RT and changes the phenotype of the host so that it is either not able to grow or presents a readily observable phenotype. In the absence of this RT, the corresponding site specific recombinase is not able to mediate recombination.
In a preferred case, the first DNA molecule to which the second DNA fragment is directed, contains two RTs, one of which is adjacent to, but not part of, an antibiotic resistance gene. The second DNA fragment is directed, by design, to remove this RT. Upon exposure to the corresponding site specific recombinase, those first DNA molecules that do not carry the ET cloning product will be subject to a site specific recombination reaction between the RTs that remove the antibiotic resistance gene and therefore the first DNA molecule fails to convey resistance to the corresponding antibiotic. Only those first DNA molecules that contain the ET cloning product, or have failed to be site specifically recombined for some other reason, will convey resistance to the antibiotic.
In another preferred case, the RT to be removed by ET cloning of the second DNA fragment is adjacent to a gene that complements a deficiency present within the host strain employed. In another preferred case, the RT to be removed by ET cloning of the second DNA fragment is adjacent to a reporter gene that conveys a readily detectable change in colony colour or morphology.
In another preferred case, the RT to be removed by ET cloning of the second DNA fragment is anywhere on a first episomal DNA molecule and the episome carries an origin of replication incompatible with survival of the bacterial host cell if it is integrated into the host genome. In this case the host genome carries a second RT, which may or may not be a mutated RT so that the corresponding site specific recombinase can integrate the episome, via its RT, into the RT sited in the host genome. Other preferred RTs include RTs for site specific recombinases of the resolvase/transposase class. RTs include those described from existing examples of site specific recombination as well as natural or mutated variations thereof.
The preferred site specific recombinases include Cre, FLP, Kw or any site specific recombinase of the integrase class. Other preferred site specific recombinases include site specific recombinases of the resolvase/transposase class.
There are no limitations on the method of expression of the site specific recombinase in the host cell. In a preferred method, the expression of the site specific recombinase is regulated so that expression can be induced and quenched according to the optimisation of the ET cloning efficiency. In this case, the site specific recombinase gene can be either integrated into the host genome or carried on an episome. In another preferred case, the site specific recombinase is expressed from an episome that carries a conditional origin of replication so that it can be eliminated from the host cell.
In another preferred case, at least two of the above three selection methods are combined. A particularly preferred case involves a two-step use of the first selection method above, followed by use of the second selection method. This combined use requires, most simply, that the DNA fragment to be cloned includes a gene, or genes that permits the identification, in the first step, of correct ET cloning products by the acquisition of a phenotypic change. In a second step, expression of the gene or genes introduced in the first step is altered so that a second round of ET cloning products can be identified. In a preferred example, the gene employed is the tetracycline resistance gene and the first step ET cloning products are identified by the acquisition of tetracycline resistance. In the second step, loss of expression of the tetracycline gene is identified by loss of sensitivity to nickel chloride, fusaric acid or any other agent that is toxic to the host cell when the tetracycline gene is expressed. This two-step procedure permits the identification of ET cloning products by first the integration of a gene that conveys a phenotypic change on the host, and second by the loss of a related phenotypic change, most simply by removal of some of the DNA sequences integrated in the first step. Thereby the genes used to identify ET cloning products can be inserted and then removed to leave ET cloning products that are free of these genes.
In a further embodiment of the present invention the ET cloning may also be used for a recombination method comprising the steps of
a) providing a source of RecE and RecT, or Redxcex1 and Redxcex2, proteins,
b) contacting a first DNA molecule which is capable of being replicated in a suitable host cell with a second DNA molecule comprising at least two regions of sequence homology to regions on the first DNA molecule, under conditions which favour homologous recombination between said first and second DNA molecules and
c) selecting DNA molecules in which a homologous recombination between said first and second DNA molecules has occurred.
The source of RecE and RecT, or Redxcex1 and Redxcex2, proteins may be either purified or partially purified RecE and RecT, or Redxcex1 and Redxcex2, proteins or cell extracts comprising RecE and RecT, or Redxcex1 and Redxcex2, proteins.
The homologous recombination event in this embodiment may occur in vitro, e.g. when providing a cell extract containing further components required for homologous recombination. The homologous recombination event, however, may also occur in vivo, e.g. by introducing RecE and RecT, or Redxcex1 and Redxcex2, proteins or the extract in a host cell (which may be recET positive or not, or redxcex1xcex2 positive or not) and contacting the DNA molecules in the host cell. When the recombination occurs in vitro the selection of DNA molecules may be accomplished by transforming the recombination mixture in a suitable host cell and selecting for positive clones as described above. When the recombination occurs in vivo the selection methods as described above may directly be applied.
A further subject matter of the invention is the use of cells, preferably bacterial cells, most preferably, E. coli cells capable of expressing the recE and recT, or redxcex1 and redxcex2, genes as a host cell for a cloning method involving homologous recombination.
Still a further subject matter of the invention is a vector system capable of expressing recE and recT, or redxcex1 and redxcex2, genes in a host cell and its use for a cloning method involving homologous recombination. Preferably, the vector system is also capable of expressing an exonuclease inhibitor gene as defined above, e.g. the xcex redxcex3 gene. The vector system may comprise at least one vector. The recE and recT, or redxcex1 and redxcex2, genes are preferably located on a single vector and more preferably under control of a regulatable promoter which may be the same for both genes or a single promoter for each gene. Especially preferred is a vector system which is capable of overexpressing the recT, or redxcex2, gene versus the recE, or redxcex1, gene.
Still a further subject matter of the invention is the use of a source of RecE and RecT, or Redxcex1 and Redxcex2, proteins for a cloning method involving homologous recombination.
A still further subject matter of the invention is a reagent kit for cloning comprising
(a) a host cell, preferably a bacterial host cell,
(b) means of expressing recE and recT, or redxcex1 and redxcex2, genes in said host cell, e.g. comprising a vector system, and
(c) a recipient cloning vehicle, e.g. a vector, capable of being replicated in said cell.
On the one hand, the recipient cloning vehicle which corresponds to the first DNA molecule of the process of the invention can already be present in the bacterial cell. On the other hand, it can be present separated from the bacterial cell.
In a further embodiment the reagent kit comprises
(a) a source for RecE and RecT, or Redxcex1 and Redxcex2, proteins and
(b) a recipient cloning vehicle capable of being propagated in a host cell and
(c) optionally a host cell suitable for propagating said recipient cloning vehicle.
The reagent kit furthermore contains, preferably, means for expressing a site specific recombinase in said host cell, in particular, when the recipient ET cloning product contains at least one site specific recombinase target site. Moreover, the reagent kit can also contain DNA molecules suitable for use as a source of linear DNA fragments used for ET cloning, preferably by serving as templates for PCR generation of the linear fragment, also as specifically designed DNA vectors from which the linear DNA fragment is released by restriction enzyme cleavage, or as prepared linear fragments included in the kit for use as positive controls or other tasks. Moreover, the reagent kit can also contain nucleic acid amplification primers comprising a region of homology to said vector. Preferably, this region of homology is located at the 5xe2x80x2-end of the nucleic acid amplification primer.